CM-010 [Rev. September 1, 2021]
CIVIL CASE COVER SHEET
Page 2 of 2
CM-010
INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO COMPLETE THE COVER SHEET
To Plaintiffs and Others Filing First Papers. If you are filing a first paper (for example, a complaint) in a civil case, you must
complete and file, along with your first paper, the Civil Case Cover Sheet contained on page 1. This information will be used to compile
statistics about the types and numbers of cases filed. You must complete items 1 through 6 on the sheet. In item 1, you must check
one box for the case type that best describes the case. If the case fits both a general and a more specific type of case listed in item 1,
check the more specific one. If the case has multiple causes of action, check the box that best indicates the primary cause of action.
To assist you in completing the sheet, examples of the cases that belong under each case type in item 1 are provided below. A cover
sheet must be filed only with your initial paper. Failure to file a cover sheet with the first paper filed in a civil case may subject a party,
its counsel, or both to sanctions under rules 2.30 and 3.220 of the California Rules of Court.
To Parties in Rule 3.740 Collections Cases. A "collections case" under rule 3.740 is defined as an action for recovery of money owed
in a sum stated to be certain that is not more than $25,000, exclusive of interest and attorney's fees, arising from a transaction in which
property, services, or money was acquired on credit. A collections case does not include an action seeking the following: (1) tort
damages, (2) punitive damages, (3) recovery of real property, (4) recovery of personal property, or (5) a prejudgment writ of
attachment. The identification of a case as a rule 3.740 collections case on this form means that it will be exempt from the general
time-for-service requirements and case management rules, unless a defendant files a responsive pleading. A rule 3.740 collections
case will be subject to the requirements for service and obtaining a judgment in rule 3.740.
To Parties in Complex Cases. In complex cases only, parties must also use the Civil Case Cover Sheet to designate whether the
case is complex. If a plaintiff believes the case is complex under rule 3.400 of the California Rules of Court, this must be indicated by
completing the appropriate boxes in items 1 and 2. If a plaintiff designates a case as complex, the cover sheet must be served with the
complaint on all parties to the action. A defendant may file and serve no later than the time of its first appearance a joinder in the
plaintiff's designation, a counter-designation that the case is not complex, or, if the plaintiff has made no designation, a designation that
the case is complex.
CASE TYPES AND EXAMPLES
Auto Tort
Auto (22)–Personal Injury/Property
Damage/Wrongful Death
Uninsured Motorist (46) (if the
case involves an uninsured
motorist claim subject to
arbitration, check this item
instead of Auto)
Other PI/PD/WD (Personal Injury/
Property Damage/Wrongful Death)
Tort
Asbestos (04)
Asbestos Property Damage
Asbestos Personal Injury/
Wrongful Death
Product Liability (not asbestos or
toxic/environmental) (24)
Medical Malpractice (45)
Medical Malpractice–
Physicians & Surgeons
Other Professional Health Care
Malpractice
Other PI/PD/WD (23)
Premises Liability (e.g., slip
and fall)
Intentional Bodily Injury/PD/WD
(e.g., assault, vandalism)
Intentional Infliction of
Emotional Distress
Negligent Infliction of
Emotional Distress
Other PI/PD/WD
Non-PI/PD/WD (Other) Tort
Business Tort/Unfair Business
Practice (07)
Civil Rights (e.g., discrimination,
false arrest) (not civil
harassment) (08)
Defamation (e.g., slander, libel)
(13)
Fraud (16)
Intellectual Property (19)
Professional Negligence (25)
Legal Malpractice
Other Professional Malpractice
(not medical or legal)
Other Non-PI/PD/WD Tort (35)
Employment
Wrongful Termination (36)
Other Employment (15)
Contract
Breach of Contract/Warranty (06)
Breach of Rental/Lease
Contract (not unlawful detainer
or wrongful eviction)
Contract/Warranty Breach–Seller
Plaintiff (not fraud or negligence)
Negligent Breach of Contract/
Warranty
Other Breach of Contract/Warranty
Collections (e.g., money owed, open
book accounts) (09)
Collection Case–Seller Plaintiff
Other Promissory Note/Collections
Case
Insurance Coverage (not provisionally
complex) (18)
Auto Subrogation
Other Coverage
Other Contract (37)
Contractual Fraud
Other Contract Dispute
Real Property
Eminent Domain/Inverse
Condemnation (14)
Wrongful Eviction (33)
Other Real Property (e.g., quiet title) (26)
Writ of Possession of Real Property
Mortgage Foreclosure
Quiet Title
Other Real Property (not eminent
domain, landlord/tenant, or
foreclosure)
Unlawful Detainer
Commercial (31)
Residential (32)
Drugs (38) (if the case involves illegal
drugs, check this item; otherwise,
report as Commercial or Residential)
Judicial Review
Asset Forfeiture (05)
Petition Re: Arbitration Award (11)
Writ of Mandate (02)
Writ–Administrative Mandamus
Writ–Mandamus on Limited Court
Case Matter
Writ–Other Limited Court Case
Review
Other Judicial Review (39)
Review of Health Officer Order
Notice of Appeal–Labor
Provisionally Complex Civil Litigation (Cal.
Rules of Court Rules 3.400–3.403)
Antitrust/Trade Regulation (03)
Construction Defect (10)
Claims Involving Mass Tort (40)
Securities Litigation (28)
Environmental/Toxic Tort (30)
Insurance Coverage Claims
(arising from provisionally complex
case type listed above) (41)
Enforcement of Judgment
Enforcement of Judgment (20)
Abstract of Judgment (Out of
County)
Confession of Judgment (non-
domestic relations)
Sister State Judgment
Administrative Agency Award
(not unpaid taxes)
Petition/Certification of Entry of
Judgment on Unpaid Taxes
Other Enforcement of Judgment
Case
Miscellaneous Civil Complaint
RICO (27)
Other Complaint (not specified
above) (42)
Declaratory Relief Only
Injunctive Relief Only (non-
harassment)
Mechanics Lien
Other Commercial Complaint
Case (non-tort/non-complex)
Other Civil Complaint
(non-tort/non-complex)
Miscellaneous Civil Petition
Partnership and Corporate
Governance (21)
Other Petition (not specified
above) (43)
Civil Harassment
Workplace Violence
Elder/Dependent Adult
Abuse
Election Contest
Petition for Name Change
Petition for Relief From Late
Claim
Other Civil Petition
Commissioner Appeals